Harry Potter and the New Life
by Cat97Hermione
Summary: Harry's just watched the re-birth of Lord Voldemort, and is in desperate need of a godo hiding place... or disguise. Dumbledore's hatching a daring... and desperate plan, but will Harry agree to it? One thing he knows for certain is he's not going back to the Dursleys... and where on earth did Aleksandar Dumbledore come from? Powerful!Harry Grandfather-ish!Dumbledore ON HOLD!
1. Chapter 1

_**Grandpa and Aleksandar**_

The boy was distressed. Only two days ago, he had watched the rebirth of the Darkest Wizard of all time. Just a day ago, he discovered that many of the people close to him were just pretending. His godfather, Sirius, was just pretending that he was his father. The man didn't care about _him; _he just wanted his best friend back. His father's other friend cared but had other things on his mind, like the fact he was a werewolf. The boy he thought was his best friend was only hanging around him to get attention and his other so-called best friend was only with him to get closer to Ron. Harry was upset. And worried. His headmaster, Albus Dumbledore had told him that morning that Harry needed to go into hiding. Voldemort was looking for him and would do anything to get to him. The government wasn't much help as they thought Harry was being an attention-seeking liar- how on earth could Voldemort be back? Preposterous! Harry had asked Dumbledore if he had any ideas on how to hide and the man said he had a few but they were all very extreme. At the time, Harry had worried about what _extreme _meant. Now, however, Harry realised that he didn't care.

"Dumbledore- I've made up my mind. I'll do whatever it takes to stay hidden until the time is right- it doesn't matter how extreme it is."

"Harry, are you sure?"

"Yes, Headmaster. The only people who believe in me at the moment are you and Cedric."

"Okay, Harry," said Dumbledore, looking upset at the truth of Harry's statement, "I have two options. The first is preferable- we can disguise you as another person- you could be my grandson! The disguise would have to be very thorough although I know I can do it. The second option is you go into hiding completely under the _Fidelius _and not leave the house you are in until the time is right." Harry shivered at the second option. It sounded terrible!

"The first option! How are you going to do this, though?"

"Harry, first- don't be mad at your parents, they didn't do this, but there are several glamour charms and blocks on you to make you look more like James- well, the glamoured James. A long while back in the Potter line, a child was born- but it looked nothing like either parent. The mother panicked- and hoping that her husband hadn't noticed, put a major glamour charm on her child to look like an exact replica of the father- except for the eyes. The glamour, however, was too powerful and it was passed down through the generations. The appearances weren't the only things altered, though. The child had been born with incredible powers, so a block was placed on both his mind and magic so that he didn't overpower the rest of his family too much and looks suspicious. Once again, the blocks were passed on down the family line. So, if I can remove the glamours and the blocks you would look incredibly different—except for your eyes, but I daresay you want to keep them. My last layer of disguise would be optional for you. It would look a little suspicious if all of a sudden I had a 15year old grandson attending Hogwarts the year Harry Potter disappears. If, however, I had an 11 year old grandson, I could say that I was trying to keep him out of the spotlight so he could grow up having a normal childhood…" Harry was excited. A month ago, he would have complained about having more power- making him even less normal. Now, though, he knew he would need more to face Voldemort- and he had a strange feeling that one day he would have to fight the man to the death.

"Dumbledore- I accept that, and I agree to be 11 again… though I don't know how you are going to do that. Who was the original glamoured man, though?" Dumbledore had a scary twinkle in his eye.

"Godric Gryffindor!"

"What? I'm related to Gryffindor? Directly?"

"Mhmmm…"

"Cool. So, how are you going to make me 11 again, Dumbledore?"

"Oh, I thought that maybe an de-ageing potion would do…"

"Will it last?"

"Well, this is a rather special one…"

"Uh… ok, I'll do it," said Harry feeling slightly apprehensive.

"Well, I'm rather looking forward to it, now, Harry! Oh, and we will need to change your name… get you some new belongings and so forth…" Harry felt his nerves drain away as he looked at the sword of his ancestor in the glass case behind the headmaster.

"Brilliant! So, when do we start?"

"Hmmm… Let us wait a day and I will give you a portkey to use when you get to Kings Cross station when you get back from Hogwarts. It is plausible for you to go 'missing' from there."

"Okay, that'll work."

"Hmmm… _portus."_ The Knut in front of Dumbledore glowed blue and he tapped it again, saying;

"Help."

"There. The activation word is _help _and it will bring you straight here. That way it sounds as if you are being captured if you want it to."

"Thank you, Dumbledore!"

"No problem, Harry… although you might as well get used to calling me Albus, or Grandfather."

"Ok… grandfather…" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. 

Harry left Dumbledore's office feeling lighter than he had since the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament. The only thing that would make it even better would be to tell Cedric what was happening… but he knew that until he had the Headmaster's permission; that was impossible. He made his way to the Gryffindor tower thinking of all the things he would need to do the next day. He was hoping to visit Gringotts before he used the portkey, but that was impossible. He shrugged, Dumbledore would work something out. He kept thinking, and before long he was at Gryffindor Tower. He gave the password to the Fat Lady- _Champion _and walked into the common room.

"Harry! Where have you been, we've been so worried about you!" Harry snorted internally. He knew it was just a show for the other members of the house.

"I went for a walk, Hermione, but I'm tired now. Can we talk tomorrow?"

"Oh, of course, Harry," she said, a little too cheerfully.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled as he went up the stairs to the dorms.

He looked around. This would be his last night in the 4th year's dorm- his last night sleeping in the same room as these people. He sighed but felt a little guilty realising that he looked forward to leaving. He wanted to become someone else that no one had ever heard of- that would be recognised for his own achievements and nothing else. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next morning, Harry woke to the less-than-pleasant face-full of pillow.

"Get up, Harry, you're going to miss the train!" Harry groaned and tried to bury deeper into his pillow.

"C'mon, Harry! It's already 9 in the morning! You've missed breakfast!" Harry grumbled as he sat up. That had been his first proper sleep since the third task. He kept waking to nightmares of what would have happened had Cedric taken the Cup with him in the maze. Harry had tried to convince the older boy to take it with him, but he had refused. The boy had then levitated the cup over to Harry and before he could protest, set it down in front of him. Harry was now glad- he had only been allowed to live to duel Voldemort because the wizard was so angry at him for destroying him almost 14 years ago that he wanted to settle it himself. He wouldn't have given Cedric the same opportunity to duel- he would have been killed from behind. Voldemort was a coward.

Harry packed his trunk as quickly as he could and levitated it into the common room in record time. He had fallen asleep in muggle clothing, so he didn't bother to get changed. The train ride was uneventful as usual- the only interesting thing had happened right at the end when Harry forced the Weasley twins to take his Triwizard winnings. He didn't want it- the money only reminded him of Voldemort's rebirth. He thought that the twin's ambition of a joke shop would create a lot of laughs and he was under no illusions that they wouldn't need them soon. Voldemort was going to make life difficult very soon. Besides, he had nothing against the twins, in his opinion; they were the only ones worth knowing in that family.

Harry got off the train with the others and walked towards the barrier. He soon lost them and when he knew that no one was watching, he whispered 'Help!' He didn't want to make a scene out of disappearing.

"Ah, Harry! You're back!"

"Hi Grandpa!" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Put your trunk down! Get comfortable! When do you want to go through with this? _If _you still want to do this, that is?"

"Only if you're okay with that, Grandpa! And you're stuck being called Grandpa now. I've never had one before, but always wished for one, so…"

"That's fine, Harry, I'm glad you're comfortable with it!"

"So… can we do this now? I'm sick of being Harry Potter who people have already made their mind's up about before they meet me."

"Of course, Harry. Sit down over here, this will take a while and it might not be painless." Harry groaned inwardly.

"…of course, people will make their mind up about you fairly quickly when you carry the name 'Dumbledore' as well, Harry."

"I know, but it can't possibly be as bad as 'Potter,' as they've never heard of me."

"True, true… now, we need a name for your new identity… and a story."

"Um… can I be Aleksandar? I know it's old-fashioned but it's cool," said Harry nervously, "and it's not as though the Dumbledore's have sane names!" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Very true, Harry. You need more than one name, though… Aleksandar James Dumbledore?"

"Hmmm… Better than _Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore…_ how do you _remember_ all of that?"

"_You _just did!"

"Hmph"

"So… you agree to the name?"

"Yes"

"Good! Hmmm… family. Your parents will have to have died… sorry Harry. It would be better if it was a while ago so you can explain why you're not grieving."

"They can be killed by rampaging Death Eaters when I was one… I was staying with you. I'm an only child and my mother's parents died in the battle as well," said Harry sadly.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but we need to do this."

"I know," he said heavily, "My father can still be James, but my mother… Annastasia? They can be Dumbledore's as well… James was a store assistant abroad before he came to England and married Annastasia. She was an unspeakable and had been schooled overseas because of her name- that's where she met James. When she came back she started her job until a few years later James came back. They got married after two years and Annastasia quit he job as they had more than enough to last a lifetime. They lived quietly for a few years until I was born, and then… the rouge Death Eaters came. By the way- Annastasia was your daughter, but you barely ever saw her as her mother left you after she was born, and you had never revealed her as your wife because of the danger it would put her in."

"That was well thought-out, Harry, you've put in a lot of thought." Harry blushed. He had.

"That sounds fine," continued Dumbledore, "but where were you for the last 10 years?"

"With you," said Harry promptly, "I have no other family, but for security reasons, I had to stay hidden. You couldn't even tell your closest friends for fear of them being captured and forced to reveal things. Their positions as friends of yours made them targets for attack."

"Hmmm… Okay, Harry, I think we're ready. I'll take the glamours away first, that is when you become Aleksandar. What does Aleksandar mean, anyway?"

"Errr… Aleksandar is a derivative of Alexander which kind of means 'the defender.'"

"Ok. Ready, Harry?"

"Yes!"

"3… 2… 1… Tolle abscondita ostende veram ostende faciem velaminis veris. Tolle abscondita ostende veram ostende faciem velaminis veris…" Dumbledore began to chant and Harry felt pain. It was everywhere and it was terrible! He bit his lip to stop himself from screaming and soon had a mouthful of blood when he began to feel himself changing. His limbs were getting longer and he was starting to fill the clothing he was wearing. His hair was growing longer and he was sure his scar was disappearing, although he could not see it. His cheekbones were rising and his nose was shrinking. His lips were changing shape. He could feel his chin taking a more angular shape and feel hair beginning to sprout from it. Finally, it was done. Dumbledore showed him to the mirror, and let out a gasp of disbelief. He looked nothing like Harry Potter! He had grown a whole foot and he was sure he would be taller than Ron. His jawline was different- more masculine, he thought, and so was the rest of his face. His eyes were the only thing he recognised- they had not changed. He still had brilliant emerald-green eyes. His hair was dark brown and wavy- it went down to just below his shoulders. His scar was gone as well, which Aleksandar was glad about. His skin was darker- it looked as though he had a tan, but that was impossible. The only thing that Aleksandar felt needed to change was his glasses and muscles. As Harry Potter, he had been fine but his new body demanded strength. He was going to work hard.

"Ready for the blocks, Aleksandar?" Aleksandar jumped. His new name was going to take some getting used to.

"What? Oh, right. Yes, I'm ready, Grandpa," he said nervously.

"Ok, Alek, this will hurt as well, so you might want to sit down." Aleksandar gulped and ran to the chair, relishing how _fast _he could run with his longer legs.

"Ready, Grandpa," he said once he was comfortable. Dumbledore nodded and pointed his wand at Aleksandar.

"Ligat, relinquere, tuae revelare verum magicis potentia!" The old man cried. Aleksandar felt it immediately. It wasn't a strong ache all over as it was last time, but a huge amount of pain building in his chest. He couldn't feel it anywhere else, it felt as though someone just stabbed him in the chest and put numbing spells of the rest of his body. It was excruciating. Alek couldn't tell which one was worse- the Cruciatus was or the un-binding spell. They both hurt. Aleksandar couldn't help it- he screamed. Dumbledore quickly put up silencing charms as the screams grew louder. Dumbledore sighed. The thing he hadn't told Alek yet was that with every generation, the bound magic grew stronger. Alek had already been the most powerful in his line since Gryffindor, but without the binds he was going to be incredible.

Aleksandar was screaming. The burning pain in his chest was slowly spreading, as though it was in his blood and was slowly being pumped around his body. He knew it was the magic but it didn't help him accept it. Finally, the pain began to subside and a feeling of calm and warmth spread through his body- he had accepted the new magic. He sighed in contentment and smiled before he opened his eyes. With a start, he realised everything was blurry. He searched around for his glasses before realising he was already wearing them. Confused, he took them off. Alek gasped. Everything was so _clear! _He grinned. Even with glasses he had never seen as clearly as he could now. He put the glasses on the ground and stepped on them. There was something very satisfying about the _CRUNCH _that followed.

"Wow," he croaked, "that hurt, but I feel great now! Errr… D'you have a throat-soothing potion?" Dumbledore grinned.

"Only you, Alek, would say that after being put under a spell more painful than an illegal torture curse." Aleksandar grinned.

"Grandpa, I had to! _You _weren't about to break the tension!"

"Indeed, my boy."

"I think there was another bind?"

"Mhmmm… this one won't hurt, though."

"Oh, good!" said Alek, grinning.

"Ready?"

"Yup!"

"Ligandi potestatem, relinquere. Sap ostendere me!" Alek didn't feel it at first- but when he did he realised why. His grandfather had been right, it _didn't _hurt. It felt as though someone was in his mind, releasing all of the pressure and he felt the headache he never knew he had leaving him. It felt _nice. _He smiled.

"That felt so good, Grandpa!" Dumbledore smiled at him and Alek's eyes fell on the bookshelf. He felt weird. He wanted to get over there. There was so much information there that he didn't yet know! His thirst for knowledge had just increased dramatically.

"Grandpa… can I…" he looked longingly at the books. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Never thought I'd see _you _want to read a book for fun, Alek!" he teased.

"Remember though, Alek, we're not done yet! We can't have, say- Minerva walk in and find a 14- almost 15 year-old grandson who then turns up at Hogwarts in 2 months as an 11 year old!"

"No, you're right, Grandpa. I can wait… I think…" Dumbledore chuckled again.

"Today will be the worst for your knowledge thirst because your mind was just released. It will settle down and you will still want to learn more but the urge won't be as powerful."

"So, are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready Grandpa, but how did you get the potion?"

"My old friend Nicholas left me a vial when he died- said I'd need it one day. Never really believed him, but there you go! It will put your body back 4 years making you 10- almost 11. Your birthday will stay the same, though."

"Ok, Grandpa! So, where's the vial? How did Nicholas know you'd need it? Did he tell you how to make it?"

"Alek!" Aleksandar grinned sheepishly.

"I have the potion here, Nicholas was a seer- of sorts and no, he didn't tell me how to make it although I doubt I would be capable of it if he did! Now, here." Dumbledore handed him the vial and Alek sat down. Dumbledore cast a pain-numbing spell on him and then he drank the vial in one gulp. It tasted different- like the night air, but liquid. Alek supposed it tasted like time, but that thought almost gave him a headache, so he left it. Then he felt himself begin to shrink and was glad for the pain numbing charm. His limbs all shrank and the stubble on his chin receded. He felt his body change- his Adam's apple shrank until it was barely visible and he could tell that when he spoke he would sound a lot younger. When it was finished, Alek was still shocked at his height. He looked small, but he knew that Harry had been a _lot _shorter than that in his first year. He looked up at Dumbledore, questioning him silently as he wasn't sure his vocal cords would appreciate him trying to speak just yet.

"Ah, yes, the magical blocks would stunt growth." Alek nodded to show his understanding.

"Oh, I wondered why you weren't talking! I'll get you another throat-soothing potion and then we can work out your living arrangements as well as any extra magical gifts you had that were blocked." Alek nodded his thanks as the potion was passed to him. He drank it all, thankful that it tasted _normal. _Even if it wasn't pleasant.

"Living arrangements, grandpa?" Alek almost smiled at the high-pitched voice that came out when he spoke. Hermione would have called it cute, he realised.

"Well, you need a bedroom! We can't have you living in Gryffindor tower, Alek, although I would be highly surprised if you didn't go to live there after the holidays." Alek grinned.

"Right, bedroom. All I've seen of your living areas is this office, Grandpa!" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Well, let's have a tour now, shall we?"

"Yes please, Grandpa!" Alek couldn't believe how easy it was to act like a child. It came so naturally, he supposed that discarding his 'Harry Potter' mask brought out his true personality and the younger body probably encouraged his behaviour. He followed Dumbledore up the stairs at the back of his office into a circular living room that was quite obviously his. It had the same style. Nice, large but still very cluttered with strange devices everywhere and a very plain colour choice which Alek supposed was to keep all of the houses from complaining about favouritism.

"What do they do?" he asked, pointing at a large group of silver devices. Dumbledore chuckled again.

"Even I don't know with most of them, Alek! People give them to me and forget to explain what they do. Assuming that I know everything, I suppose." Aleksandar grinned.

"I thought you did," he said innocently. Dumbledore rolled his eyes. Alek then noticed all the doors leading off the living room.

"So, this door…" he said questioningly.

"Right! Tour! I almost forgot!" said Dumbledore and he began walking to the first door.

"Dining room is in here, though I usually use it as a meeting room and eat in the living room- don't tell Minerva, though, sometimes I think she's my mother in disguise!" Alek giggled. _Did I just giggle, _he thought, _where did that come from? Oh well, if it comes naturally it makes my job easier! _He looked in the room and saw that it was modest and plain but obviously well looked after and used. The next door was opened and Alek went over to it.

"The bathroom- this one is the one that I show to visitors, you'll have your own one, Alek." Aleksandar nodded and looked in. _Just a little more luxurious than the dining room, _he thought sarcastically. It dwarfed the prefect bathroom in both size and opulence. Dumbledore saw his expression and added;

"Just wait 'till you see yours, Alek, this one's nothing!" Alek gulped. Dumbledore's voice sounded almost- sinister? He walked quickly to the next door, but Dumbledore didn't open it.

"That's the private kitchens. You can see it later, there's no house elves. I use it mostly when I want to make lemon drops, I find them fun to make and you can lick the excess sugar from the bowl when you're done!" he said excitedly.

"You're worse than Arthur Weasley with his muggle obsession!" he teased. Alek was then shown to the Library, duelling room, fitness room, guest room and Dumbledore's own. They were all impressive, though Alek preferred the ones he would actually use. Finally they made it to the last room. Dumbledore stood outside the door.

"This, Alek, will be your room until you no longer want it. It's got the basic furniture in it and I will leave you to decorate it however you want. You can do magic here, though we need to get you a new wand as your current one, apart from being highly recognisable, won't be able to handle advanced magic from you- you'll overload it and it will explode. Also, you might want to try wandless magic, there's no doubt that you're powerful enough, you could have done it before the blocks were removed!"

"But I wasn't powerful before," said Alek, confused.

"Aleksandar, you were very powerful before I removed the blocks. You were blocking your own abilities because you feared it. You feared being more powerful than was 'normal,' so you shut most of your power away without even realising it." Alek was amazed. He hadn't ever thought he was doing that!

"So… wandless magic is possible?" he asked to change the topic, even though he knew the answer.

"Yes, Alek, you already knew that!" said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. Alek wondered if he used magic to do the twinkle effect. Almost as if he could read his mind, Dumbledore said;

"No, I don't _use _magic to make my eyes twinkle per say- It is the magical power of a person that causes it. Alek, if you look in the mirror you will notice that your eyes are twinkling as well. Hardly anyone knows why it happens so they will just assume that it's a Dumbledore-trait." Alek smiled.

"So, my room?"

"Ah, yes!" and Dumbledore opened the door, letting Alek in. Alek looked around happily. The room was large and spacious. It didn't have the trademark Dumbledore clutter. Instead, it had nice, expensive-looking furniture but no personal belongings. The large four-poster was near the door. There was no hangings, nor any bedding and Alek assumed that Dumbledore hadn't wanted to leave any decorating to himself- it was all for Alek to do. There was a large desk with an even larger bookshelf beside it and a matching chair. A bedside table stood beside the bed and a wardrobe was standing in the corner of the room. A large window looked over the lake and an armchair was beside it. A small door was hidden away and when Harry went to investigate it, he was shocked. It opened up to the bathroom Dumbledore had warned him about- but the warning wasn't enough. It was _huge! _The bath- no, pool was Olympic size. The only difference was the absence of lane ropes, the depth and the bubbles. Alek shook his head. Only Dumbledore would combine an Olympic lap pool and a diving pool before calling it a bath. Everything else in the room was just as impressive. Alek wondered why something so large could feel so comforting. It baffled his. Suddenly Dumbledore was beside him and Alek didn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms around the old man and whispered in his ear;

"Thank you so much, Grandpa, this is the best thing anyone has ever done for me!" They stayed that way for several minutes before Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"I think there are a few things we need to buy today, so we need to get going now. We'll just have some lunch and them go. No, not your wand," he added at Alek's questioning look, "we can't get that until your letter… arrives… well, anyway, we need to get you some clothing and other belongings for your room, not to mention bedding and the like." Alek grinned. Dumbledore looked way out of his depth.

"Okay, lunch it is!" Dumbledore smiled and called for the house elf to bring up lunch for two. It took less than a minute. Very soon the two of them were stuffed full of chicken sandwiches and were ready to go.

"So where're we going?"

"Ah, now that's a good question… I guess we will have to brave Diagon Alley. Well, we will just have to let everyone feel our magic to make them stay away!"

"How do you make people feel your magic?" Alek asked curiously.

"Alek, you do it naturally. I have to practice keeping it under control so that people aren't afraid of me."

"Oh," was the only reply Alek could make.

"Hmmm… let's go by portkey, I rather dislike Floo powder." Alek giggled. That sounded so strange coming from Dumbledore!

"_Portus."_

Alek put a finger on the little device that Dumbledore was holding and almost immediately felt the familiar jerk behind his navel, and they were standing behind a building that was quite obviously Gringotts. The two of them walked around to the front and Alek noticed almost immediately that people were clearing a path around them. He smirked to himself. They walked up the stairs of Gringotts and went to a free goblin. Dumbledore pulled out a key that looked vaguely familiar…


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Letters from Annastasia and James**_

"We would like to do an official name change for this vault. The holder is the same person with a different identity," said Albus in his usual confusing manner.

"The holder is…" sneered the goblin.

"Right here," said Alek softly.

"Name?"

"Aleksandar James Dumbledore"

"Previous name?"

"Harry James Potter"

"A goblin can always tell if a human is lying. You are telling the truth. Would you like to change all of the Potter vaults to your new name or leave them?"

"_All _of my vaults? I thought I only had one."

"No, Alek, I should have told you earlier, but you have only seen your trust vault so far."

"Oh. Um… can I put all of my vaults under my new name? Wait, no, can I combine them all and put them under the name Aleksandar James Dumbledore?"

"That would be ₲10"

"Okay, I'll do that, do you agree, Grandpa?"

"Gringotts is safe, so it might be easier for you to combine your money. A bank with less security, I would not advise this," said Albus seriously.

"Okay, I understand, Grandpa. Could you please combine all of the Potter vaults and change the name to Aleksandar Dumbledore?"

"₲10"

"Thank you," said Alek, knowing he wouldn't get a straight answer. The vaults combined, Alek got a pouch linked to his new vault meaning he wouldn't have to visit to withdraw money. Then the two Dumbledore's left the bank with a clear path thanks to the people parting to give them space. They went first to Madam Malkin's where Alek and Mme Malkin had to work together to convince Albus to buy him proper, respectable clothing instead of the robes the older man was insisting were perfect. They succeeded… barely. Alek left the store with a dozen new robes of different colours, though nothing as bright as something Albus would wear- instead, he got dark blues, greens and greys along with one gold one at the older man's insistence. The next store was another clothing store- muggle this time. The assistant took one look at Albus and sent a pitying look at Alek. When he asked what they were after, Alek jumped in before Albus had a chance to say anything.

"I need a whole new wardrobe, nothing that he-" Alek broke off and pointed an accusing finger at Albus, "would pick out." The assistant shivered at his power before agreeing. Alek thought he heard him mumble something about commissions, but he wasn't sure. Alek went behind Albus, pulled the wand out of the man's pocket and sent a whispered full-body bind at him and replaced the wand before he followed the assistant who was staring at him with something close to awe.

"Y-you just jinxed D-dumbledore!" Alek smirked inwardly.

"Mmmm… Grandpa's going to give me a long lecture when we get home about not sneaking his wand." The assistant gaped at him. Alek sighed for show- he was actually enjoying it but the assistant wasn't to know that.

"Yes, he's my grandfather, and yes I sneak his wand a lot to jinx him with 'cause I haven't got my own yet and no, I haven't started Hogwarts yet. Can we get some things now, 'cause I don't know how long the body-bind will last and I'd rather not have Grandpa's help with this!" He gestured around the shop. The assistant seemed to recover himself.

"Right. Yes, I see your point; I wouldn't want his help either. I'm Jonathan, What's your name?"

"Hi Jonathan, I'm Aleksandar!" Alek followed Jonathan around the store, slowly adding to his pile of clothing. Underwear had been first, followed by socks, then t-shirts, long sleeves, jackets, jumpers, vests, singlets, swimming trunks, shorts, long pants, tracksuit pants, jeans, pyjamas, a dressing gown, slippers, shoes and finally gym clothing. They were all in plain colours that suited him but were brighter than his robes. Once he had paid, he got Jonathan to undo the jinx on Albus and dragged the older man out of the store before he could make any comments about it. The next shop on 'Albus' list of Shops to Visit' was a bedding and linen store. Alek pretended to groan, but was really excited about the whole trip, linen included as it was going to be his! Once Alek checked the size of the bed Albus had gotten him, he went over to the linen for that size. He found a set of golden sheets and a matching pillowcase which was followed by a red duvet and pillowcase. (He had two pillows) The hangings he bought were white with a gold trim as he didn't want to make the room feel hot by adding too much red. He bought green and blue towels and bathmats for the bathroom and a goldish-brown rug for his bedroom. Red, gold and white cushions were added to the bag of things. Alek was really starting to enjoy the shopping trip. A quick stop at the Diagon Alley branch of Scrivenshafts got him enough parchment to last for years, inks in every colour and several quills including some self-inking and dictation quills. Quality Quidditch Supplies was what Alek had really been looking forward to. His Firebolt had a registration number and would give him away, so he bought the new Nimbus 2006. It was supposed to be even faster than the Firebolt, and even if it wasn't, he didn't plan on buying anything that reminded him of Sirius. Alek bought several posters of famous seekers and the Appleby Arrows- his team. A few more bits of Quidditch gear and a book entitled _100 years of the Appleby Arrows- _and he was done. Flourish and Blotts was next and almost as anticipated as Quidditch- he bought several books on every type of magic he could find as well as some on history and other not-quite-magic subjects. Fiction novels were mostly brushed over but left alone. Alek would have bought more books, but he already had so many that they were beginning to feel heavy despite the feather-light charm. Albus told him that if he bought tins of paint, they could be charmed onto the walls, so Alek made his way to the paint store. There, he got tins of white, gold and brown paint. Albus insisted that they visit at least one toy store before they went home, so Alek went into _Toys and Games for Every Young Witch and Wizard._ He picked up a chess set almost immediately and snickered when he saw Albus roll his eyes. Alek then found a stack of self-shuffling cards. A pile of board games followed as Albus was not satisfied. The old man still not happy, Alek continued to search the store. A model of a dragon went in, (thankfully, this one didn't breathe fire) a working model of a broom followed- a fish tank and some pranking items all went in, but Albus was only happy when Alek finally gave in and added a small plush hippogriff to the pile. When they left the store, Albus said;

"We have to make it look as though you've spent almost 10 years in the living quarters- it will be suspicious if you have barely any toys. The plush toy also makes it look as though you've been there for a while as no 11 year-old boy would buy a stuffed hippogriff!" Alek rolled his eyes but conceded the point.

"Grandpa, can I get a pet?"

"What sort?"

"I would get a snake, but that's a giveaway… don't like rats since Scabbers… toads are only useful for potions. That leaves a cat or an owl…"

"Alek, you don't need an owl, you have no one to send letters to, and there are school owls for when you have friends at school. You can get a cat."

"Yes! Thanks Grandpa!" Alek ran to the pet store. He picked up baskets, a scratching post and other toys for a cat, a litter tray and a carry cage before he went to look at the cats. He spent ages looking and finally asked the question he had wanted to ask all along.

"Grandpa, It makes sense to get an older cat to make it look like I've been there for longer, like you said, but I really want to get a kitten. May I get two, please?"

"Ah, yes, of course, but you won't be this spoiled every time we go shopping, young man!" Alek giggled and went back to the cats. He picked up an adult tabby named Henna. She was small and reminded him a lot of Professor McGonagall's animagus form. Then he went to pick up the kitten that had caught his eye almost immediately. She was tiny! She had thick, silky black fur and pure white paws. The change between black and white was perfect and neither colour had anything else in it. The only other colours were the kittens' pink nose and jewel-green eyes. She reminded him of his old look. Her name was Athena which Alek thought suited her as she looked far too intelligent for a kitten as well as extremely cheeky! As soon as he picked her up, the pull he felt to her strengthened. Then he felt something try to touch his mind. It felt friendly, so he went to investigate. _Hello, _he thought to it, _who are you?_

'_It's me, Athena!'_

_Athena? How?_

'_You are my true owner- the one I am supposed to be with as I don't like the word owner. I am trying to bond with you. What's your name, anyway?'_

_Athena! That's amazing! My name is Aleksandar, but I used to be called Harry Potter. I'll explain that later. What happens if we bond? And how does it happen?_

'_Bonding makes it easier for us to communicate- this is taking too much energy and I will never be able to do it again. If we bond, we could speak in each other's mind all of the time. Also, you would gain a lot of cat-like qualities like our balance and grace. It would also increase your stamina. I would get someone to depend on and talk with- you. I would also get a small amount of magic- enough that if I am hurt I could heal myself as long as it isn't too severe. There are no negative side effects.'_

_It sound wonderful, Athena! How do we do it? _

'_You don't have to do anything, just let me do the work, Aleksandar!'_

_Ok, Athena. _

Alek felt Athena move into his mind and make form a connection. Almost immediately, he felt his legs lengthen a tiny amount along with the rest of his limbs and he felt more flexible and sure on his feet. He understood what Athena meant about gaining their balance and grace. He held her close and thought- _Thank you, Athena, this is wonderful! _And swore he heard a cat-like laugh in reply. He took the two cats up to the counter along with the other things he had picked up and some cat food. "You really want this one? Athena? She's a foul kitten, always biting everyone who tries to buy her," said the Manager.

"Yes, Athena's wonderful," said Alek, "and she certainly hasn't bitten me!"

'_I should hope that I hadn't!'_

"Well, if you're sure…" he trailed off, obviously doubtful that Alek would buy her.

"I'm sure," he said firmly. He felt his magic build up and noticed the Manager flinch.

"Okay, you can buy her, and Henna as well. Hmmm… that's ₲30 for both cats, the baskets are ₲2 each. Scratching post is ₲1 and ₴13, all of those toys add up to ₴16, litter tray is Ӄ3. Carry cages are ₲1 each… food is also ₲1… so that's ₲39, ₴12 and Ӄ3."

Alek handed over the money and left the store with his new purchases. Albus decided it was time to go home as he was rather tired, so the portkey was pulled out and very quickly they were back at Hogwarts. Harry grabbed the bag of things and the carry cage before sprinting to his room. He closed the door to his room and opened the cage.

_Athena, can you please tell Henna that this is our room?_

'_Okay, Aleksandar!' _

_Thanks, 'Thena!_

''_Thena?'_

_It's easier than saying Athena all the time. You can call me Alek if that's easier for you._

'_Okay Alek!'_

Alek smiled and put the carry cage in the bottom of his wardrobe. He set up the cat things first. The litter tray went in the bathroom as the door would always be open there. The baskets went beside the bed and the toys and scratching post were scattered around the room. Alek got two bowls of water from the kitchen and another two bowls for food and placed them in the bathroom as well- he didn't want food on the carpet. Once the cat things were done, he unpacked all of his new clothing and put it in the wardrobe. The parchment, ink and quills went into the desk. His new books and games went into the bookshelf- apart from the stuffed hippogriff which was placed on the ground for the time being, and the empty fish tank which was placed on the desk. Alek got the sheets and duvet out and made the bed before adding the pillows (with the new covers on) the hangings were put up and the stuffed hippogriff was then thrown onto the bed. The cushions were added to the armchair and the rug was placed on the ground. The bathmats and towels were added to the bathroom fairly quickly as well. Then Alek got to the Quidditch bags. The posters were stuck strategically around the walls and his new Nimbus leant against the wall in an obvious position. Once he was satisfied with his new belongings being in place, he got out the tins of paint and read the instructions. The charms sounded basic, so Alek was not worried about using his old wand. He opened the white paint and said the charm before moving his wand in sweeping motions to cover the walls and ceiling in white paint. That done, he muttered a quick drying charm. The white paint was the undercoat, though. The brown tin was next, and he covered the skirting boards, windowsill and picture rails with it. Gold was last. He painted the ceiling gold first- then thought about the walls. He could paint it all gold, or just partially. Patterns were an option as well. Finally, Alek made his decision. He made his way over to the wall with the window. That wall was painted all gold, and when he was done he smiled. He had a feature wall! It really made the window stand out and made you look at the view across the lake. Alek thought it was perfect.

_What do you think, 'Thena?_

'_It's great, Alek! And Henna agrees.'_

_Thanks!_

'_No problem'_

"_No problem"_

_Henna? Did you just speak to me?_

"_Yes"_

_How?_

"_You really need to work out the abilities that you gained when your powers were unbound."_

_Powers?_

'_Alek! You can't possibly think that you only had raw power blocked!'_

"_Yes! If Godric showed talents that didn't run in the family, it would be suspicious."_

_Errr… I never thought about that. How do I find out? And how do you two know what happened?_

'_All animals know, Alek, we can tell.'_

_Cool!_

"_As for how you find out, it is easy. The spell is 'revire ostendre potestatem' and it will conjure parchment and write your abilities on it."_

_Thanks Henna!_

"_You're welcome."_

'_What about me?'_

_Thanks 'Thena!_

Alek broke the connection before he picked up his wand, hoping the spell was not too powerful.

"Revire ostendre potestatem!" he said softly, pointing the wand at himself. The parchment that appeared next to him almost immediately afterwards began to write on itself and Alek felt as if he was being thoroughly searched. He was glad when the spell was done as he was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He picked up the parchment that had fallen to the ground and began to read it.

_**Official Name; **__Aleksandar James Dumbledore_

_**Birth Name; **__Harry James Potter_

_**Age; **__10 years, 11 months_

_**Active powers; **_

_Beastspeaker_

_Parseltongue_

_**Dormant powers;**_

_Aura reader_

_Dragontongue_

_Elemental (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Shadow)_

_Empathy_

_Mage sight_

_Metamorphmagus_

_Multi-animagus_

_Staff magic_

_Telepath_

_Teleport_

_Wandless magic_

Alek stared at the list in shock. He knew he would have _some _powers, but this was insane! He picked up the parchment intent on showing it to Albus when he realised that he had been in his room for hours and it was already dinner. Gulping, he took one last look at his new room and shoved the parchment in his pocket before running out to the living room. Albus was already sitting on the couch waiting, although he looked as if he had been ready to come barging in to Alek's room.

"Sorry, Grandpa, I got a little preoccupied and forgot that it was dinner!" Albus sighed.

"That's fine, Alek- well, it's not, but we'll ignore that for now. Come sit so we can have dinner, the house elves have waited long enough!" Alek grinned sheepishly and sat down next to Albus. Almost immediately, a house elf popped into the room carrying a tray of food for two people.

"Dinner is ready, Masters," said the little creature who bowed and popped out. Albus looked thoughtfully at the place where the elf had disappeared from while Alek took a bowl of soup from the tray in front of them. When Albus didn't come out of his stupor, Alek waved a bowl of soup under his nose.

"Grandpa, dinner!" There was no response. Alek rolled his eyes and tried again. Still nothing. He sighed. Albus wasn't going to be happy with him after this one. He put the bowls of soup down, far away from the old man.

"Albus, Death Eaters are attacking the school!" Albus jumped and quickly got up from the lounge and looked around wildly before he spotted Alek giggling on the sofa.

"Sorry, Grandpa, but you wouldn't respond to anything else," Alek said softly, handing the man his soup.

"Hmph. Don't do that again. Anyway, I was thinking, you really need a house elf. I spend a lot of time running the school and someone would have spotted you when you were younger if you came to me to ask for everything.

"You're right, I guess, but I don't want them to behave all servant-like towards me. Just… keep my secrets. Hey, while we're on the topic of believable stories, you know that you have no records to prove my existence, don't you? No photos of a younger Aleksandar, none of a James and Annastasia Dumbledore, no letters or _anything!"_

"Good point! Okay, you can help me with the photos and letters after dinner, and we will see about a house-elf tonight as well."

"Thanks, Grandpa!"

They ate dinner silently, each thinking about Alek's new family and magic- though Albus didn't yet know the extent of his powers, and he was willing to bet there was quite a lot of them. Very quickly, dinner was finished and they were ready to create more evidence of Alek's existence.

"We will do the letters first while I think of a way to get photographs," said Albus more to himself than Alek.

"Grandpa, we need to change the handwriting!"

"Hmmm… yes, there is a spell but it's difficult because you have to create a whole personality to go with it."

"I think I can handle it. Errr… we should do one person each to make it easier. You should do Annastasia 'cause she should be more like you being your daughter than James who grew up away from the Dumbledore influence."

"Ok, Alek! Your parents, what do you want? Hmmm… my mum will have to be incredibly smart because of her family line but brave and daring. Very cheeky, too. Like an ideal Gryffindor. James, my dad… He can be more down-to-earth- very loyal and hard-working, but smart as well. A Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw mix. Sneaky as well so we have the traits of all four houses in there. That makes sense 'cause if the four Hogwarts houses worked together we would be incredible!"

"Sounds like a plan, Alek!"

"Thanks!"

"Right, so the spell itself is simple- wand is pointed at the quill and the incantation is 'mutare.' The difficult part is that you have to force the personality you imagined into the spell. That is hard and I would be shocked if you got it in the first try, but you'll never get it if you don't try, so let's go! Accio Parchment! Accio quills! Accio ink!" The mentioned items flew into the room and hovered beside Albus, who handed them to Alek, telling him to try first.

Alek took the items and laid them down, ready to use. He focused entirely on feelings of loyalty, hard-work and intelligence. Playfulness as well. He pointed his wand at the quill.

"Mutare," he said and the quill glowed blue. Albus looked gobsmacked.

"Alek, hurry! It worked, but you need to start writing now!" Alek looked up at the old man and nodded.

_Dear Albus,_

_How are you? Regretting running that school yet? How long's it been, anyway? Annastasia tells me that she has already written to you informing you of the latest development, but I want to tell you anyway. 'Stasia's expecting! Has been for 8 months, actually. We apologise for not informing you earlier, but we were having trouble getting hold of an owl here- they are nowhere! It's also a little hard for us to walk down Diagon Alley or someplace similar at the moment, as well. We believe it is going to be a boy, but__

_Hi again, Albus! Sorry about ^that line^! 'Stasia went into labour early and we had to get her to a muggle hospital. We're back now, and I think she's still glowing! Aleksandar James Dumbledore was born on the 31__st__ July! This is so exciting! Alek's really adorable. He's really quiet for a baby as well, but he's already displaying signs of being an incredibly powerful wizard. He gets it from his mother, I suppose! No, I blame you. Can't wait to see you next time you have the chance to visit!_

_James_

Alek handed the completed letter to Albus, who chuckled.

"I'll write the rest, you enjoyed that too much! Once it's dry, you could try 'ageing the letter the way muggles do- it has to look almost 11 years old, and it's written on fresh parchment! I'll send the completed letters into the kitchen for you."

"'Kay, Grandpa," said Alek, who took the letter back cheerfully and walked towards the kitchen. There, he made a black tea and quickly cast a cooling charm on it. Then, he carefully 'aged' the edges of the parchment as doing the whole thing would make it look too old. A drying charm and the parchment was ready for the next step. Alek rolled the letter up tightly- as if he was going to send it and left it tied up as the next letter came flying in. Once it was aged and tied up, Alek went back to the first letter. He unrolled it and folded it several times before placing it underneath the large cookbook stored on the bench. The process was completed many more times with each new letter until there was over fifty pieces of parchment folded and stored under the cookbook. The letters were all 'aged' differently- some were as young as almost 10 years old, while others were written in a childish scrawl belonging to a young Annastasia. Alek left the kitchen to go back to the living room where Albus was waiting for him.

"Grandpa, the letters have to stay under the cookbook overnight, but after that they will be ready."

"You're the expert, Alek! I have an idea for the photos. Can you please bring out the diary with all the pictures of your parents?"

"Ok, Grandpa!" Alek ran to his room and pulled out the journal, wondering why he needed it. He had hidden it in his old school trunk and didn't think he would look at it for a while but apparently not. He took it over to Albus and handed it to him.

"Please be careful with it, Grandpa," he said softly.

The older man went through the book systematically, pointing his wand at every photograph and saying;

"Geminio!" and a new photo would appear next to the diary. Albus would then pick up the new picture and add it to the growing pile beside him. When he was done, Albus looked up at Alek holding the diary out to him.

"Go put this away now; I don't need it anymore, Alek. They are wonderful pictures, by the way!" Alek nodded before he picked the book up and carried it gently to his room. When he got to his room he decided against putting it back in his trunk- instead, he went to the desk and opened the bottom drawer. This one was the drawer that Albus had been really excited about. Once you spilt a drop of blood on it, it would only open for you. No one else would ever be able to get into it. Alek put the diary in it before he remembered all of his other belongings. Everything that once belonged to Harry Potter (minus the invisibility cloak) went into the drawer- although the trunk had to be shrunk. When he was done, he pulled out a new quill and pricked the tip of his finger with it, glad it was sharp. He felt it puncture his skin and quickly squeezed a drop of blood onto the draw which glowed red for less than a second. Alek shut the door and watched as it glowed red once more- again for less than a second before it disappeared, the drawer not looking any different. Alek smiled, before walking back into the living room. The pile of photos beside Albus had split in two, and as he watched, Albus added another photograph to the second pile. Curious, Alek went over to look at the second pile. He smiled at what he saw. A woman with dark brown- close to black wavy hair and piercing blue eyes was smiling at the camera and holding hands with a tall man who had messy black hair and bright green eyes. Together, they were holding onto a tiny baby that looked like a miniature version of him. He looked through the stack and saw that the same three people featured in every photograph, sometimes separate and in all different combinations and places. There was a picture of two younger-looking people standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris! Alek looked at the photos, drinking in the pictures of his new parents. His new _family, _he realised, as there was a picture of Albus playing with a young Alek. Then he saw that the stack of photos weren't just his own- the man was modifying some of his own family photos for the new ones. He smiled at the old man, who understood.

"Alek, you look exhausted. Go to sleep and we can talk in the morning," said Albus gently. Alek nodded and went to leave the room before he turned around. He pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket and walked back to the old man.

"Grandpa, I think you should look at this tonight as well," he said softly before leaving to take sanctuary in his new room that felt more like home than anywhere else in the world. 


End file.
